Put it on my tap

Colorado Springs residents are lucky. As local water gurus love to point out, the stuff that comes out of our taps is pure Rocky Mountain snowmelt. As the city continues to burgeon, officials are currently trying to set in motion a complex, billion-dollar project that would pipe water 43 miles upward from the Pueblo Reservoir. Will it work? Check out this week's cover story, beginning on page 16, for more. (P.S. When asked who is the city's No. 1 water consumer, the city-owned utility company wouldn't say.)

Chris Alexi

Garden of the Gods area

Teachers aide, School for the Deaf and Blind

Where does Colorado Springs get its water? From reservoirs. Other than that, I don't know.

What do you do to conserve water? Turn off the water when I brush my teeth.

Who is the city's No. 1 water consumer? The Sheriff's Department.

Should our priority be to find more water or to limit development? Our problem is less water than building and stacking. We're building too fast without sufficient planning.

Do you drink bottled or tap water? Tap water, here. I've lived in Phoenix, and water there is awful. Around here, it's pretty good.

Phillip OBrien

Black Forest

Graphic designer

Where does Colorado Springs water come from? We pump it over from the Western Slope.

Do you conserve water? I turn it off when I brush my teeth, and I try to take quick showers, though that doesn't always happen. I just try not to use much in the first place.

Who is the city's No. 1 water user? The Air Force Academy.

What do you think about the proposed Southern Delivery System? I haven't heard many negatives about it. It would mean more work for the company I work for.

Should we concentrate more on finding additional water or on limiting growth? We need to do both, but we have a lot of stuff already built out there in the east. They're building and building and building for refugees from California. We don't need more development.

Do you drink bottled or tap water? Tap water if I'm home, bottled water if I'm out and about.

Kim Phillips

Downtown

Manager of art supplies store

From where do we get our water? The Western Slope.

How do you conserve water? By obeying the water restrictions put in place last year. I'm careful about how much water my family uses, and I go to water conservation events offered by nurseries around town about how to use less water for landscaping.

Is finding more water or limiting growth best for Colorado Springs' future? We're not going to limit development. The developers and planners in this city will always get and do what they want. Maybe what we need is to sell less water to other states.

Do you drink tap or bottled water? Of all the places I've lived, Colorado Springs has the best water. Here, I find no need to drink bottled. That hasn't been true in other states.